Jeff Bezos Unveils Lunar Lander

I was a mere 7 months old when Neil Armstrong set foot on the Moon's surface in 1969, and had just received a baby sister in 1972 when the last human,
Gene Cernan walked on that distant sphere. I've seen quiet a few discussions on ATS
over the years asking why haven't we been back and did we really go? Were some or all of the Apollo landings staged or faked? Are we under
quarantine, forbidden to leave Earth's atmosphere by an alien guardian that knows we will only wreak havoc on the rest of the universe if we are
allowed out? It's fun to think about...

Jeff Bezos, Amazon founder and world's richest man believes his company can help us get back to the Moon. If I had his kind of money this is a
project I would consider as well. If there are alien bases on the moon, certainly they need same-day Amazon Prime delivery too, right?

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has unveiled a plan for a vehicle designed to land on the moon, in what he said was the first step
to build colonies for humans in space. Mr Bezos revealed his ambitious plan in Washington on Thursday during a slick hour-long presentation,
more akin to an Apple product launch than an announcement by his e-commerce company, Amazon. “It’s time to go back to the moon — this time to
stay,” Mr Bezos said with a flourish, as a black curtain dropped behind him to reveal his lunar lander. Mr Bezos, the world’s richest man, has
been working quietly on his space plans since founding Blue Origin, his rocket company, in 2000 — two years earlier than fellow billionaire space
enthusiast Elon Musk founded SpaceX. Two years ago, Mr Bezos announced he would sell $1bn of his stock in Amazon every year to help fund the
company.

IMO, a lunar lander using the old method of an orbiter and a lander and then re-docking is too dangerous and not sustainable.

We need robust space stations around both Earth and the Moon, and then land and take off and dock with them, going from station to station to ferry
goods.

I don't know why people are wedded to this dangerous and low percentage method which was thrown together at the last moment back in the 1960s when
people suddenly realized that Von Braun's idea of a gigantic all-in-one rocket mission was impossible.

Even Buzz Aldrin said that the most dangerous part of the mission back then was re-docking 6 miles up at 3000+ mph with the lunar orbiter and it had a
one-in-25 chance of succeeding (they got lucky 7 times).

Sure, it's easier using modern tracking and computers to do it now but the basic method is just not robust or practical or cost-effective.

If we had robust space stations around the Earth and Moon already NOBODY would be talking about using the old rendezvous method. Period.

originally posted by: Maverick7
IMO, a lunar lander using the old method of an orbiter and a lander and then re-docking is too dangerous and not sustainable.

We need robust space stations around both Earth and the Moon, and then land and take off and dock with them, going from station to station to ferry
goods.

I don't know why people are wedded to this dangerous and low percentage method which was thrown together at the last moment back in the 1960s when
people suddenly realized that Von Braun's idea of a gigantic all-in-one rocket mission was impossible.

Even Buzz Aldrin said that the most dangerous part of the mission back then was re-docking 6 miles up at 3000+ mph with the lunar orbiter and it had a
one-in-25 chance of succeeding (they got lucky 7 times).

Sure, it's easier using modern tracking and computers to do it now but the basic method is just not robust or practical or cost-effective.

If we had robust space stations around the Earth and Moon already NOBODY would be talking about using the old rendezvous method. Period.

Where would you build this lunar space station? right now they can only send little capsules to lunar orbit, it would take forever and cost a fortune
to rocket materials and assemble in lunar orbit. Not to mention it's not even in the planning stages, right now this is our only way to go. Ultimately
you are 100% correct though we don't have the plan, resources,finances or political will to attempt right now.

I wonder who they're going to get to direct the landing. Who could fill the shoes of Kubrick?
Maybe JJ Abrams could pull it off.
Personally, I'd like to see a David Lynch production on this. Creepy music, slow moving camera pans. Zoom in on a bubble of sweat on the astronaut's
eyebrow. Cut to Bezos's grinning face on a grainy monitor screen. Pile of ants crawling around a coffee cup outside of the set. Panning from the ants
back to the astronaut - whoops, busted.

originally posted by: EmmanuelGoldstein
I wonder who they're going to get to direct the landing. Who could fill the shoes of Kubrick?
Maybe JJ Abrams could pull it off.
Personally, I'd like to see a David Lynch production on this.

Here's the most recent test flight of another Bezos space vehicle from May 2, 2019 in Texas:

My first impression while watching the above video was, "Gee, that's quite a phallic symbol". Then, I marveled at how beautiful it was. Don't get
the wrong idea! The landing of the booster was very cool, it's too bad they still do the Apollo-Era parachute splash-down style landing for the
capsule. It would be nice to have parachutes for emergencies, but I want to see the capsule sporting some anti-gravity black budget technology
reverse engineered from the Roswell craft.

originally posted by: EmmanuelGoldstein
I wonder who they're going to get to direct the landing. Who could fill the shoes of Kubrick?
Maybe JJ Abrams could pull it off.
Personally, I'd like to see a David Lynch production on this. Creepy music, slow moving camera pans. Zoom in on a bubble of sweat on the astronaut's
eyebrow. Cut to Bezos's grinning face on a grainy monitor screen. Pile of ants crawling around a coffee cup outside of the set. Panning from the ants
back to the astronaut - whoops, busted.

As long as Disney doesn't get involved I'll buy tickets! I like your idea of Lynch directing this sci-fi epic, a sandworm swallowing the lander would
be an amazing sight!

This content community relies on user-generated content from our member contributors. The opinions of our members are not those of site ownership who maintains strict editorial agnosticism and simply provides a collaborative venue for free expression.